Sri Ramakrishna on Prema
In a little while a number of elderly Brahmo devotees arrive from
Calcutta. One of them is Thakurdas Sen. There is a big gathering of
devotees in the room. Thakur is seated on the smaller cot. Facing north,
with a smile on his face, he sits like a child, conversing happily with
the Brahmo devotees.
Sri Ramakrishna (to the Brahmo devotees and others) — You people talk so
much of prema. But is it such an ordinary thing? Chaitanya Deva was in
the state of ecstatic love. There are
two characteristics of ecstatic love. One is to forget the world, to
become unaware of everything external in the love of God. Chaitanya Deva would think that it was Vrindavan when he was in any forest and it was the Jamuna river at the sight of the sea.
“The second characteristic is to have
no attachment to the body one holds so dear. The conviction of the body
as the self fully disappears.
“You cannot have prema till you have seen the Lord.
“There are some marks of God-realization. When the splendour of love manifests within, God-realization is not far away.
“What does the splendour of love mean?
Discrimination, dispassion, compassion, service to the holy, company of
the holy, chanting the name and glories of the Lord, truthfulness – all
these.
“When one comes across these signs of love, one can know that the vision
of God is not far away. By looking at the condition of the servant’s
house, one can easily determine if a rich man has decided to visit it.
First of all, all weeds are cleared, cobwebs are removed, and the floor
of the house is cleaned. The rich man himself sends a cotton carpet, a
hubble-bubble and other such things. Seeing all these things being
carried to the house, everyone surmises that the visit of a gentleman is
not far away.”
A Devotee — Sir, does one have to reason before being able to control the senses?
Sri Ramakrishna — That is a path – the path of discrimination. If you
take to the path of devotion, the inner senses get controlled
automatically. And it is easier. The more you develop love for the Lord, the less you care for the pleasures of the senses.
“When they lose their child, can the grief-stricken parents think of their bodily pleasures?
Source: Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, Section III, Chapter 3
Desires - II
Question: Let our sorrows come to an end - should one have or not have this desire?
Swami Ramsukhdasji: One should not have any desires. If you
desire to wipe out sorrow, then you will become an enjoyer of happiness.
If you desire to become free of bondage, then you will become an
enjoyer of salvation and of freedom. Do not even desire to break off the
relationship with innate matters (jadataa), or else a very subtle form
of ego will remain within. The point here is that there is absolutely
nothing to be seeked out or to be received or to held on to.
The more that a spiritual aspirant is exclusively dependent on God, that
much spiritual progress he will make. A sadhak must have no desires for
himself, leave all to God. Then he becomes extraordinary and attains
realization in totality. Therefore there must not be even the desire for
one's own salvation. This is the best. Just like Narsiji had the vision
of Shankara, at which time he asked for nothing from Him. He only said,
that whatever you feel is appropriate for me, that you do. Man can only
desire to the extent that he is able to envision. But beyond is the
infinite essence. Beyond, the glories are extraordinary. If a spiritual
aspirant does not hold on to his points, if he does not become
complacent, then his Self will make immense spiritual progress.
From "Prashno Uttermanimala"
Question: How to get rid of desire for worldly possessions and enjoyments?
Swami Ramsukhdasji: We are busy hoarding and delighting in
things that we know for certain to be perishable. This is a dangerous
tendency on our part. We must change this attitude and begin to think
about how we can bring greater happiness to others. Let this begin at
home to start with. Our aim should be to bring greater happiness to our
parents, spouse, children, but at the same time expecting nothing in
return.
Generally we tend to only do and give happiness to those from whom we
hope to get something in return. Here lies the main bondage. Therefore
it is important that you do good to others without expecting anything in
return.
From "Ancient Idealism for Modern day Living"
Question: Desire for the world and desire for God, both desire appear quite contrary and opposing, do these reside in one place?
Swami Ramsukhdasji: Yes, both these desires reside in one place.
Where there is desire for enjoyment of worldly pleasures, there itself
is also desire for salvation. When desire for worldly enjoyments are
concluded, desire for God (Supreme Consciousness) will be awakened.
Wiping out the desire for worldly desires will automatically on it's own
result in fulfillment of desire for God. But worldly desires will never
be satisfied. In spite of millions of births, then too these desires
will remain un-fulfilled, and more so, new desires will continue to
manifest - "Jimi pratilaabh, lobh adhikaayi."
From "The Bhagavad Gita - Sadhak Sanjivani"
Question: How do both these desires reside in the same place?
Swami Ramsukhdasji: One desire you have held on to, and the
other desire is there innately in us (Self). Worldly desires you have
grabbed onto, whereas, desire for God (Supreme Consciousness) is in you,
in your Self. The desire to remain alive for ever, to have no lack of
knowledge (ignorance) remaining in us, and to remain ever and eternally
happy at all times - these desires are of the Self, whereas desire for
enjoyment of worldly pleasures are not desires of the Self.
The inspiration behind all desires is your Self. If by the Self, if you
leave worldly desires, then they can never remain or last. That whose
fulfillment is impossible, should certainly be given up. The reason
worldly desires are not fulfilled is because the world is "not" and
deisre for God (Supreme Consciousness is fulfilled because that Supreme
Consciousness "IS". Worldly objects never remain forever. They are
destroyed. But God (Supreme Consciousness) ever remains.
From "The Bhagavad Gita - Sadhak Sanjivani"
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Meaning of 'Hari OM' from Advaita Standpoint
Hari OM is a short form for 'Hari OM Tat Sat'
Om is beyond 3 gunas and goes into
turiya state. From OM Maya was created. OM is the representation of
Nirguna Brahman. It is the only Mantra that can effortlessly (in hindi:
sahajta se) establish or merge the seeker in Nirvikalp Samadhi.
Hara means to remove troubles /
bondages / Doshas / Granthis. Hari means one who removes troubles and
bondages i.e. Remover of bondage.
so hari is Remover of Bondage
Aum / Om is one which takes one
beyond Gunas in to turiya. All 3 Gunas (Satva, Rajas, Tamas) are doshas
and OM takes one above these doshas, breaking Hriday Granthi, breaking
bondages into the Realm of Atman / Brahman which is Sat-Chit-Ananda. I
would collectively call Dosha, bondages, granthis as bondages (Bandhan).
So, Can I translate it as (My salutations (pranams) to) OM, the remover of Bondages, who takes one into the realm of Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman.
Hari is also connected with Shri Vishnu, who is the remover of bondages, granthis, etc.
Aum
Indiaspirituality
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
What is the meaning of word 'Darshan'?
When we say (in Hindi):
'मुझे
ईश्वर के दर्शन करने है '
Common meaning and Translation is:
'I want to have vision of God.',
Now, let's analyze a common statement:
'I am going to the temple to have vision of
God'
Here, Darshan generally means 'To see'
Now the question is, when: why after going to temple we join hands and
then close eyes???
... and if at all we want to see, where to
see and where to go?
Closing eyes, to me means that the same
God is within us whom we re worshiping outside as an image or idol and go go deep inside us.
Darshan means 'to know' and not 'to see'
Another question is:
What will you call Darshan shastras? 'To
see' shastras or 'to know' shastras. The knower of darshan shastras is
called as darshan shastri.
I
recall a discourse where a Swamiji
says, Darshan means to know. If you think it is 'to see' then what
does Darshan shastra mean? Do you go to a place with lots of mirrors,
some concave, some convex, reflecting funny fat or slim or stretched,
etc images??
In
Gita Sri Krishna says, My Birth and Karma are divine and those who
know me and my karma are not different from me.
The correct meaning of Darshan is 'to know' and not 'to
see'.
Aum
Indiaspirituality
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